This invention relates to coating of semiconductor devices. In particular, this invention relates to methods for spray-coating semiconductor light emission structures with layers of phosphor and/or other particles.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that convert electric energy to light. Inorganic LEDs typically include an active layer of semiconductor material and a P-N junction formed at an interface between two oppositely doped layers. When a bias is applied across the P-N junction, holes and/or electrons are injected by the P-N junction into the active layer. Recombination of holes and electrons in the active layer generates light that can be emitted from the LED. The structure of the device, and the material from which it is constructed, determine the intensity and wavelength of light emitted by the device. Recent advances in LED technology have resulted in highly efficient solid-state light sources that surpass the efficiency of incandescent and halogen light sources, providing light with equal or greater brightness in relation to input power.
Conventional LEDs generate narrow bandwidth, essentially monochromatic light. However, it is highly desirable to generate wide bandwidth, polychromatic light, such as white light, using a solid state light source. One way to produce white light from conventional LEDs is to combine different wavelengths of light from different LEDs. For example, white light can be produced by combining the light from red, green and blue emitting LEDs, or combining the light from blue and amber LEDs. This approach, however, requires the use of multiple LEDs to produce a single color of light, which can potentially increase the overall cost, size, complexity and/or heat generated by such a device. In addition, the different colors of light may also be generated from different types of LEDs fabricated from different material systems. Combining different LED types to form a white lamp can require costly fabrication techniques and can require complex control circuitry, since each device may have different electrical requirements and/or may behave differently under varied operating conditions (e.g. with temperature, current or time).
Light from a blue emitting LED has been converted to white light by surrounding the LED with a yellow phosphor, polymer or dye, such as cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Ce:YAG). The phosphor material absorbs and “downconverts” some of the blue light generated by the LED. That is, the phosphor material generates light, such as yellow light, in response to absorbing the blue light. Thus, some of the blue light generated by the LED appears to be converted to yellow light. Some of the blue light from the LED passes through the phosphor without being changed, however. The overall LED/phosphor structure emits both blue and yellow light, which combine to provide light that is perceived as white light.
LEDs have been combined with phosphor layers by dispensing a volume of phosphor-containing encapsulant material (e.g., epoxy resin or silicone) over the LED to cover the LED. In these methods, however, it can be difficult to control the geometry and/or thickness of the phosphor layer. As a result, light emitted from the LED at different angles can pass through different amounts of conversion material, which can result in an LED with non-uniform color temperature as a function of viewing angle. Because the geometry and thickness is hard to control, it can also be difficult to consistently reproduce LEDs with the same or similar emission characteristics.
Another conventional method for coating an LED is by stencil printing. In a stencil printing approach, multiple light emitting semiconductor devices are arranged on a substrate with a desired distance between adjacent LEDs. The stencil is provided having openings that align with the LEDs, with the holes being slightly larger than the LEDs and the stencil being thicker than the LEDs. A stencil is positioned on the substrate with each of the LEDs located within a respective opening in the stencil. A composition is then deposited in the stencil openings, covering the LEDs, with a typical composition being a phosphor in a silicone polymer that can be cured by heat or light. After the holes are filled, the stencil is removed from the substrate and the stenciling composition is cured to a solid state.
Like the volumetric dispense method described above, the stenciling method may also present difficulties in controlling the geometry and/or layer thickness of the phosphor containing polymer. The stenciling composition may not fully fill the stencil opening, resulting in non-uniform layers. The phosphor-containing composition can also stick to the stencil opening, which may reduce the amount of composition remaining on the LED. These problems can result in LEDs having non-uniform color temperature and LEDs that are difficult to consistently reproduce with the same or similar emission characteristics.
Another conventional method for coating LEDs with a phosphor utilizes electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The conversion material particles are suspended in an electrolyte based solution. A plurality of LEDs are immersed in the electrolyte solution. One electrode from a power source is coupled to the LEDs, and the other electrode is arranged in the electrolyte solution. The bias from the power source is applied across the electrodes, which causes current to pass through the solution to the LEDs. This creates an electric field that causes the conversion material to be drawn to the LEDs, covering the LEDs with the conversion material.
After the LEDs are covered by the conversion material, they are removed from the electrolyte solution so that the LEDs and their conversion material can be covered by a protective resin. This adds an additional step to the process and the conversion material (phosphor particles) can be disturbed prior to the application of the epoxy. During the deposition process, the electric field in the electrolyte solution can also vary such that different concentrations of conversion material can be deposited across the LEDs. The conversion particles can also settle in the solution, which can also result in different conversion material concentrations across the LEDs. The electrolyte solution can be stirred to prevent settling, but this presents the danger of disturbing the particles already on the LEDs.
Still another coating method for LEDs utilizes droplet deposition using systems similar to those in an ink-jet printing apparatus. Droplets of a liquid phosphor-containing material are sprayed from a print head. The phosphor-containing droplets are ejected from a nozzle on the print head in response to pressure generated in the print head by a thermal bubble and/or by piezoelectric crystal vibrations. However, in order to control the flow of the phosphor-containing composition from the ink-jet print head, it may be necessary for the print head nozzle to be relatively small. In fact, it may be desirable to engineer the size and/or shape of the phosphor particles to prevent them from catching in the nozzle and clogging the print head.